Official Visit of His Excellency Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan to Sri
Lanka

Official Visit of His Excellency Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of
Pakistan to Sri Lanka

At the invitation of H.E. the President
Maithripala Sirisena, His Excellency Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of
Pakistan, will undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka from 4 to 6
January 2016, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Madam Begum
Kalsoom Sharif will be welcomed on their arrival at the Bandaranaike
International Airport by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. On 5th
January 2016, the official welcome ceremony presided by President
Maithripala Sirisena will be held at the Presidential Secretariat in
Colombo. The visiting Prime Minister will be accorded a ceremonial
welcome including a Gun Salute and Guard of honour.

President Maithripala Sirisena will lead the
Official Bilateral discussions with the visiting Prime Minister. The
delegation for the talks will include Hon. Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe, Cabinet Ministers and Senior Government officials.
President Maithripala Sirisena will host a State Banquet and Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will host a lunch in honour of the
visiting Prime Minister.

Several bilateral instruments in the areas of
Health, Science & Technology, Trade, Statistics, Gem & Jewellery,
Money Laundering & Terrorism Financing, and Culture are envisaged to
be signed during the visit. On the invitation of the Lakshman
Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic
Studies (LKIIRSS), Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will deliver a
special lecture on "Sri Lanka-Pakistan Relations" at the Cinnamon
Lakeside Hotel.

During his stay in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif will visit the historic city of Kandy. He will pay homage to
the Sacred Tooth Relic, and will also visit a Muslim Mosque and the
Jinnah Centre in Kandy. He will also visit the Peradeniya Botanical
Gardens and will plant a "Karanda" tree (Pongamia pinnata) to
commemorate his visit to Sri Lanka.

It is recalled that President Maithripala Sirisena
undertook a State visit to Pakistan from 5-7 April, 2015. Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Sri Lanka in 2013 to participate in
the Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting and in November 2010,
President Asif Ali Zardari, paid a State visit to Sri Lanka,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said.